Asiaweek.com | 'I was Betrayed'

OCTOBER 20, 2000 VOL. 26 NO. 41 | SEARCH ASIAWEEK

Joel Nito.
"I personally delivered [nearly $4.3 million] from Jueteng operators in Luzon to the president. He was using me as his collector for payoffs.

'I was Betrayed'
Singson on his falling out with Estrada

ALSO:
• All played out: Is the end coming for President Estrada?
•Jueteng money: Estrada defends himself against the claims
• Record: The litany of unending controversies

Luis "Chavit" Singson did not just jump to notoriety when he accused President Joseph Estrada of being a comrade-in-graft. Singson, 59, has been governor for 22 years of Ilocos Sur province in northern Luzon, an area where guns, goons and gold are a common political combination. In an exclusive two-hour conversation with Asiaweek's Antonio Lopez, Singson related how he first became friends with Estrada, and how they fell out. Excerpts from Singson's side of the story:

How long have you known the president?
Since the 1960s, when he was mayor of San Juan [town, east of Manila] and I was a municipal councilor of [Ilocos Sur capital] Vigan. Our friendship deepened when I [first] became governor in 1972. We had nights out together drinking. I would have red wine. He preferred Blue Label scotch. Often, we would go home drunk. He is the godfather of one of my children and I am the godfather of one of his children. In the May 1998 presidential election, he asked for my help. Other provincial governors were afraid to throw their support behind him because they feared the [Fidel] Ramos administration. But I was the first among the few who stood out for Mr. Estrada, who won with 63% of the vote in my province. I thought that having a personal friend as the president would be the best thing for my province and my people. I was wrong.

Why did you go against the president?
He betrayed me. He was using me as his collector for his jueteng payoffs. After using me, he disregarded me. He gave the Bingo Two-Ball [franchise] in my province to Eric Singson, who is my political enemy and whom I defeated in the 1998 gubernatorial election. What face can I show in my province? I value true friendship. Estrada is not a true friend.

How did you become his bagman?
It began right after he took over the presidency in July 1998. I was called to the house at Polk Street [in Greenhills, Estrada's home in suburban San Juan], together with Charlie "Atong" Ang and businessman Bong Pineda [alleged jueteng lord of Pampanga province north of Manila]. Atong was to take over jueteng operations in the country and would give money to the president. But then he and the president had a falling out over sugar allocations. President Estrada instructed me to take over Atong's duties. From November 1998 to August this year, I collected P545 million [about $11.7 million at 46.5 pesos to the dollar] from jueteng operators in Luzon. Of that, I personally delivered [nearly $4.3 million] to the president. I brought the money in attachE cases that I would drop beside the president's chair inside his office at MalacaNang. The balance of my collections, totalling [also about $4.3 million], was deposited in my bank account. The deposits were later transferred to the bank accounts of [Estrada's] accountant and auditor, Yolanda Ricaforte. Sometime this year, the president instructed Ricaforte to transfer [that $4.3 million] to a designated account of his choice.

Why did you and the president fall out?
Atong badmouthed me before the president because he wanted to regain his closeness to Estrada. Atong claimed I was skimming the money I was collecting for the president. How could I do that when the president himself assigned an auditor to me? Atong promised to deliver billions [of pesos] if he were to take charge of the entire Bingo Two-Ball operations. The president became the victim of his own greed.

What if you are lying?
I challenge the president and my other detractors that we all submit ourselves to a lie-detector test. I am sure I will win, because I am not lying. I have documents and bank statements showing the paper trail. I made the payments. I am the witness. I am the evidence.

So what should the president do?
Resign. We must have a new, decent government. The country has no future if we continue with Estrada as president. I am thinking of our children. They don't have a bright future. Even if we have the best president after Estrada, it will be very difficult for the country to recover at the rate we are [mismanaging] the government, the economy, everything.

How far will you go in this fight?
I have crossed my Rubicon. This is a fight to the finish. The more I am threatened and challenged, the firmer is my resolve, the more courageous I become. No matter what happens to me, even if I am killed, it won't make a difference to me now, as long as we can return decency in government. On Oct. 6, the president talked to me and asked that we sort this out. I told him I have made up my mind. The president made a mistake in underestimating me.

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